If you have ever been interested in portrait photography you’ll love the handy tips and advice on this website. In my eight years of photography experience I have learnt one thing about taking someone’s portrait. I’ve learnt that successful portrait photography hinges on your ability to bring out the absolute best in someone. We’ll go into lighting and the camera equipment in just a minute, but I want to draw your attention to the fact that portrait photography depends on the interaction you have with the person.

It takes a lot of concentration and skill to be able to work successfully with portraits, otherwise know as people photography. Landscape photography for example, affords you the luxury of time. People don’t. Whether they get fidgety and bored easily or they don’t want to sit there all day and wait for your creative urge, portrait photography requires relationship skills as well as technical skills.

Discover how to take stunning portraits

One of the first aims in portrait photography is to capture the best side of people. The aim is to take them reflecting a positive and happy demeanour. Now this doesn’t mean laughing and kidding around (although it can), it can mean capturing someone when they are concentrating on something they really love doing. A thoughtful and meditative manner is always an interesting photo. This can work well for people who play a musical instrument or partake in a creative hobby.

There is another important aspect of portrait photography that I wish to share with you. That is your outdoor background when you don’t have a studio. Your person and the props you use in the photo are considered your foreground but your outdoor background will enhance or completely kill a portrait photo. I’ll give you an example. Think of the location in which you take the photo. You may have someone standing under a tree on a sunny day. Sounds nice right? Yes but you may not have noticed the dog taking a leak on the tree in the background…not a very nice example I know. I only say this because it happens. Its life and it can happen to any of us. So unless you are using a completely blurred background, or intend to adjust the background in Photoshop, be very careful.

A great way to combat this (as much as you can), is to make a list of locations that make for a beautiful background.

Keep your background simple. That’s what I was aiming for with the above list. It’s fine to have a busy background if you are not going to have it in focus. To make this work I suggest making a detailed list of places that you can go to that are easy to get to and will make great backgrounds for your portrait. Keeping in mind this is if you do not have a studio. Also think about the light at the time of day, the weather and local regulations about photography.

You can work out what gear you need as soon as you have worked out your location. This will determine your technical needs and a creative plan usually manifests from there.

You can choose whether to use soft lighting, a flash with a soft filter, hard sunlight, etc. It’s a very creative exercise and a lot of fun. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with.

Here are a couple of ideas:

Trying shooting on a secluded beach- use a light source to shine on the side of your friend where the sun falls the least.

If you are photographing children, try taking them to a park and get them to do something they enjoy.

About the Author

Amy is an multi-award winning photographer from Australia. She teaches enthusiast photographers how to take beautiful, professional photos in easy, plain English. She has a monthly photography emagazine and ebooks to help you create stunning images every time.
DigitalPhotographySuccess.com

Thanks for the lovely words. Yes, pelase do try the light from different angles to see what effects you get. Also, try using different filters such as the P037 to warm up skin tones. Let me know if you need any help.
Amy

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